'I'd have lain in the road to get a place'

Every education authority must publish its order of priority for awarding school places. There's a long list, most of which only apply in one or two special cases.

When a parent signs the application form for a school place, they are supposed to have understood the process. Unsurprisingly, when the education authority arrives at a decision, some parents are shocked because they haven't fully understood the system.

"For nearly all children without an older sibling at a school, the deciding factor is how far away they live," explains Melanie Stainforth, admissions manager for Darlington Borough Council.

"But there's a myth that if you only put down one choice of school, you're more likely to get it. In fact, if your first choice is over-subscribed, you will be offered a place at your nearest school, in the absence of any other preferences. Similarly, people think that "family links" include more distant relatives, like cousins, when only siblings qualify for priority places.

"We do include step or half-brothers and sisters though, as well as siblings who live in different households with separated parents. We realise families aren't always straightforward."

This sounds okay - as long as you are happy with your nearest school. Because that is what you're likely to get, unless, by some freak of fate, the most popular schools are under-subscribed.

So what can you do if you're unhappy with the school place your child is offered? The only way to challenge a decision is via an appeal. Contrary to popular belief, a parent can appeal for any reason they feel is relevant. Bullying is often cited, when parents feel their child needs a new start away from a difficult peer group. Other common reasons include medical conditions aggravated by stress, and social issues, where parents believe their child will not flourish because they are shy, or very academic.

"People often ask me what they should say at appeal," says Melanie. "But there really is no formula. The best advice is just to be honest. Stress the positive aspects of your preferred school, rather than criticising the other school too much. Everything is strictly confidential, so, if you can, bare your soul because it helps the panel to make a better decision."

In Darlington, the panel consists of three members of the public, all carefully vetted to ensure impartiality. A council representative is also present, but only to provide information. They are not allowed to contribute to the final verdict.

"The appeal can be daunting for us too," Melanie admits. "The panel are sometimes quite critical of our decisions."

Obviously, this is a very daunting experience for most parents - some say it feels like being in court. With this in mind, there's an opportunity for questions at the start of the day, after which everyone has time for reflection before facing the panel. Parents who know they are likely to be speechless with terror can bring along a friend to speak for them.

This tactic certainly paid off for Sharon Madderson, who appealed when her daughter, Emma, now 16, was given a place at Eastbourne School in Darlington.

"We appealed for a place at Hurworth because Emma was a quiet, shy child," she says. "She would have sunk without trace at Eastbourne."

The decision wasn't easy, however. "All that paperwork was overwhelming, not to mention facing a panel of three strangers," Sharon recalls.

In the end, Sharon drafted in her "battling Auntie" to do all the talking. She produced medical records of Emma's stress-induced insomnia and won her appeal.

"If we hadn't won we would have had to move," Sharon says. "Or I would have lain in the main road until somebody took me seriously."

Another Darlington couple who felt equally strongly about their daughter's education lived just too far from Abbey Infant School to qualify for a place. "Although the staff at Skerne Park Primary School were lovely, we worried that our daughter was too quiet to stand up for herself in the playground," says the father, who does not want to be named. "We appealed without knowing how we could make a case."

When the appeal papers arrived, the couple noticed that the council had measured distances by road. However, the admissions criteria claimed to recognise the shortest walking route to school. "I rode all the possible routes on my bike counting how many times a piece of tape on my wheel clicked," says the father. "We realised the route to Abbey School was shorter via Polam Lane, a well-used footpath. The man from the council didn't want to admit it, though. He said the path wasn't safe."

"Safe" in this case means well lit with tarmac underfoot. Some councils avoid argument by measuring distances "as the crow flies". Whatever the method, there's little point driving around in your car to test their figures - they're calculated by GIS (Geographic Information System) to the nearest 0.01 mile.

Despite the new distance, the couple were still too far from the school to qualify automatically for a place. They moved right up the waiting list, though, and their daughter was offered a place two months later.

"Now we worry about the secondary school situation," says the girl's mum. "But I'd educate our daughter at home while we waited for a place at the right school, if that's what it took."

When the stakes run this high, it's no surprise that parents sometimes go to extremes to beat the system. "People rent a house near their chosen school, just while the applications are processed," says Melanie. "Or they use someone else's address on the form."

She says councils are always receiving anonymous tip-offs and they investigate thoroughly.

"I understand why people feel angry enough to write in," she says. "Everyone deserves fair treatment."

But many parents don't feel fairly treated. The admissions team handle plenty of phone calls from irate parents. "One mother told me I must be the most hated woman in Darlington," says Melanie.

It isn't her fault, of course. She's just the person who administers the system. But, while some schools are still considered better than others, her job will always be a tough one.

* Hilary Cooper is a general studies teacher at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington